Sunday, May 3, 2015

Big news today as The Academy Members Project leaps over another major milestone.

We have now identified the names of over 5,000 Oscar voters!

From the very beginning, our goal has been to identify and celebrate the artists who make up this prestigious club. We get a rush of excitement every time we find a new name, but we have to admit that surpassing big round numbers like 5,000 brings a special thrill.

In addition to the 5,000 current members, we have found a significant number of historical members, and even begun to identify some famous people who have not been admitted to the academy (yet!).

I want to thank everyone who has helped with the research, or even just smiled supportively over the years. Reading through archival materials and hunting down news articles can be lonely work, but your encouragement helps immensely. There are still lots of names left to find, but the days when people can claim that they have “no idea” who makes up the academy are dwindling fast.

You can check out all the names using the index below, or learn how you can join the search to help us get to 6,000!